Some of Britain’s top celebrity chefs including Nigella Lawson, Tom Kerridge, Angela Hartnett, Michel Roux Jnr, Thomasina Miers, and Yotam Ottolenghi have warned of a restaurant meltdown without government action.

With Cabinet Minister Michael Gove declaring that pubs and restaurants will be the last to reopen after the coronavirus crisis, the traditional British local pub as well as thousands of much loved high street restaurants are facing a battle for survival.

Leading restaurant bosses this week wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak asking for a #NationalTimeOut in order to save two million jobs in the hospitality sector.

The letter was written by Hospitality Union founder and industry leader Jonathan Downey and has been supported and signed by key figures in the restaurant industry including Alisdair Murdoch (CEO of Burger King), Thomasina Miers (Wahaca), Will Beckett (CEO Hawksmoor), Arjun Waney OBE, Pano Christou (CEO of Pret a Manger), Des Gunewardena (CEO of D&D London) and more.

The letter details a rescue plan for the hospitality industry calling for a 9 month #NationalTimeOut – a rent free period for hospitality businesses combined with a matching loan and interest payment postponement for landlords.

A #NationalTimeOut, which includes a nine-month #NationalRentFree period, will protect countless businesses, save millions of jobs and won’t cost the taxpayer anything.

Leading voices from the hospitality world have come forward with their support for this campaign.

Nigella Lawson:

There are so many people who need our love and support right now and I know that the reopening of restaurants may well not be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. But in these difficult times, what we all crave, and can’t have, is the sociable gathering that restaurants can provide, the coming together over food that makes the world a better place. Reopening won’t be easy, and restaurants will have many challenges in creating a safe and welcoming environment; some will reinvent themselves in a different form. But however restaurant owners manage to transition – and must do so safely – into a new and unchartered world, I wish them so much luck. For their hospitality and inspiration over the years, I thank them, and I hope that everything is being done to help everyone in the restaurant world flourish as we need them to again.

Yotam Ottolenghi

I wholeheartedly support the #NationalTimeOut proposal. It is vital that hospitality businesses get the lifeline they so urgently need in order to survive into the post-lockdown era. Without the 9-month rent-free period proposed, millions of jobs may be lost and a whole industry irreparably damaged.

Michel Roux Jnr

Le Gavroche has been open for 53 years and been through recessions, depression, winter of discontent, IRA bombings and anything else you can think of. Nothing comes close to this crisis. Whilst some landlords have been proactive and very helpful, most have not. The industry needs government help for a 9-month rent free period, #NationalTimeOut, otherwise it will be carnage not just for the hospitality industry but this will trickle down to thousands of suppliers.

Tom Kerridge

I’m not sure people realise how busy restaurants have to be before they start to make a profit. We are all seeing restaurants reopening in China and Hong Kong but the economics of running a restaurant I think are very different here in the UK. Our fixed costs are so much higher. Many restaurants in the UK make small profits or just break even. A 20% decline in revenue means that almost all restaurants will become unprofitable. I am incredibly worried about the future and believe that restaurants revenues will be down anywhere between 25% – 50% for a very long time. We need to re-evaluate and look to how we move forward, both individually and with the help of the government to ensure that our incredible and amazing industry can survive.

Thomasina Miers

Hospitality is one of the hardest hit sectors in the current climate, and will be one of the last to recover. While the existing measures being taken by the Government go some way to offer a lifeline to our industry, it’s crucial that support and protection is also extended to the landlords of the commercial premises from which we operate, in order to help ensure a return to normality in the hopefully not-too-distant future. We’re 1 in 10 of the UK’s employees and vital social and cultural centres at the heart of cities and communities. This initiative will go some way to preventing an otherwise annihilation one of the country’s most creative and dynamic industries.

Angela Hartnett

Many restaurant operators may not be able to re-open unless action is taken. A #NationalTimeOut can help if the UK government supports a 9-month rent free period for the hospitality sector. As the third biggest employer in the UK we are a vital part of the UK economy.

Gary Usher

I own six restaurants across the north west of England & I employ 200 industry professionals but without this rent free legislation hospitality union is proposing we are completely f***ed. It is highly likely my company Elite Bistro will have to close its doors for good. I can’t stress how important this help is and I can’t see any other way out other than a #NationalTimeOut.